A Nidai Nobutaka Katana (前伯州信高入道)

The lineage of Hôki no Kami Nobutaka stands among the most captivating chapters in the rise of the Owari Tokugawa domain during the formative years of the Edo period. While the first Nobutaka emigrated from Mino Province to establish roots in Owari, it was his son – nidai Nobutaka – who elevated the family name to lasting acclaim. Born in Kiyosu in 1603, the second generation became goyô kaji to Tokugawa Yoshinao, founding lord of Owari and son of the great Tokugawa Ieyasu. Granted the prestigious title of Hôki no Kami in 1633, nidai Nobutaka was celebrated as one of the finest smiths in service to the Tokugawa family. His works brilliantly fuse Mino-den structural foundations with Sôshû-den flamboyance – a synthesis uniquely his own.

This katana has been on a remarkable transformative journey. Acquired in the UK in the spring of 2023, the sword was initially in dreadful condition, but the blade stood clear promise. Over two years it was shipped to Japan, re-shaped and polished by expert craftsmen, fitted with a new shirasaya, and submitted to the NBTHK – achieving Hozon certification in Reiwa 7 (2025). The restoration reveals breathtaking results: a magnificently soaring gunome-chôji and notare-midare hamon displaying brilliant yô, elegant sunagashi, striking togari-ba formations, and passages of tôranba that ripple like Hokusai’s Great Wave. The nakago bears the partial signature “Zen Haku…” – the remainder lost to suriage – almost certainly abbreviated from “Zen Hakushû Nobutaka Nyûdô” (前伯州信高入道), denoting works forged at the height of his spiritual life as a lay Buddhist monk.

The shirasaya carries an inscription confirming the attribution to the second generation and dating the blade to around the Keian era (1648-1652), written in the eighth month of Reiwa 7 (August 2025). Treasure this katana in shirasaya, or consider building a daishô koshirae with the ujwa258 shodai Nobutaka wakizashi – also from this catalogue, and also the survivor of a similarly transformative restoration.